MMA World Rankings

WEC 34 Analysis

145 lbs. Title – Urijah Faber [1] vs. Jens Pulver [4]

WOW! What a performance by both fighters. Urijah showed why he is the best featherweight in the world by setting a relentless pace over 5 rounds of action. He took the first 3 rounds by close margins and cruised to victory in the final 2. The big difference was Urijah’s quickness. He is one of the quickest fighters in the world (if not the quickest.) Everyone knew about his wrestling skills and his world-class ground and pound, but in this fight, Pulver’s takedown defense forced him to use his striking. While standing, his quickness allowed him to get off first. Pulver took a beating from combinations of Urijah’s powerful right hand, left hook and right body kick. Those shots had him hurt badly in round 2 but he reminded us why he’s a legend. When Urijah went for the finish, Jens fought back and landed some nice combinations that would have stopped lesser fighters. It was an inspiring display of heart and fighting spirit. Urijah was pushed to the limit and he responded in kind. During round 3, he landed an elbow that damaged Pulver’s eye badly. I wouldn’t be surprised if he suffered some broken eye bones. Despite the injury, he pushed on for 2 more rounds. At the end of the fight, the crowd gave a standing ovation to honor the brilliant display of skill and courage shown by the fighters. Faber stays at 1. Pulver rises to 3.

135 lbs. Title – Miguel Torres [1] vs. Yoshiro Maeda [3]

Speaking of great fights, this one is a fight of the year candidate. Miguel Torres and Yoshiro Maeda brought out all of their skills and gave all of their heart in order to come out victorious. In the end, the only thing that could stop the fight was the doctor. Maeda’s eye was swollen shut and (just like Jens Pulver) he appeared to have a fracture or two. This fight had it all. High-level striking and grappling combined with heart and desire to produce an epic contest. The signature moment came when both fighters applied simultaneous toe-holds in the center of the cage. Neither would tap and when both finally realized it, they let go and stood back up to bang it out again. After two rounds of back and forth action, Torres began peppering Maeda’s face with a crisp jab. With his opponent’s eye beginning to swell, Torres landed a right cross that was the beginning of the end. Maeda’s eye was swollen shut and the doctor was forced to end the fight at the end of round 3. Torres stays at 1. Maeda stays at 3.

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ok nobody else will say it so i will, EliteXC was horrible (Gina’s fight being the execption also great gogo attempt) WEC was chaulk full of true MMA and unfortunately it was EliteXC that was on Cbs if it was the WEC the sports writers of america would be estatic with MMA rather than screaming “fix” or “awful”…. Torres v Maeda= fight of the year, up til now imho a definate rematch, When Faber came out of the tunnel ive never heard a place get sooo damn loud in my life, at the end hell all of Sacramento was cheering For Urijah and Jens a great display of sportmenship, far better than EliteXC and nobody seemed to notice its a damn shame (writers of MMA sites that have only focused on EliteXC and the awful show compared too the great event put on by WEC its too bad…..) cheers…. sorry had to rant

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A fighter can rise in the rankings despite losing if he turns in a high-level performance.

Generally for a fighter to debut in the rankings, he must beat an established opponent or win several fights in a row impressively.

A fighter will be removed from the rankings after 2 years of inactivity or after poor performance.

(NR) means the fighter has yet to establish himself in their new weight class or is fighting outside his regular weight class or is coming off a 2-year layoff.

If a fight is at a catchweight, I will consider it at whatever division it is closest to. Example: A fight at 160 lbs. will be considered a lightweight fight (155 lbs.) rather than a welterweight fight (170 lbs.) because it’s only 5 lbs. away from lightweight rather than 10 lbs. for welterweight. If the weight difference is even, I will consider it a fight in the higher weight class.